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Proceedings of the Sixteenth (2006) International Offshore and Polar Engineering Conference

San Francisco, California, USA, May 28-June 2, 2006


Copyright © 2006 by The International Society of Offshore and Polar Engineers
ISBN 1-880653-66-4 (Set); ISSN 1098-6189 (Set)

Axial Pipeline-Soil Interaction


John Oliphant and Alasdair Maconochie
Technip Offshore UK Limited
Westhill, Aberdeenshire, UK

ABSTRACT

The calculation of axial resistance of a pipeline is a key component in Guidelines for pipe-soil interaction associated with SCR Design have
lateral buckling design, UHB analysis, axial walking assessment, been developed from the findings of STRIDE JIP and CARISIMA JIP.
pipeline anchoring and pull-in and retrieval analyses. The level of axial The CARISIMA soil-pipe interaction testing has allowed the
resistance will depend on the rate and duration of pipeline loading, development of mathematical expressions for vertical (compression and
pipeline displacement and on the relative roughness of the pipe-soil suction) and lateral resistances of risers. These expressions have been
interface which is normally addressed by an interface friction factor. encoded in the finite element program RIFLEX as part of a SCR design
The former relates to the understanding that the soil response can be approach. The design approach is relevant to very soft clays with
bounded by drained and undrained conditions. A method is described intermediate to high plasticity. However, in general, deepwater very
which allows the application of drained or undrained conditions to be soft clays are characterised with an extremely high plasticity. Technip
estimated for pipelines in clay/silt soils. The main purpose of the paper has extended the original work by CARISIMA to these more plastic
is to present a method for estimating the axial soil resistance using a clays and implemented the SCR design approach within ABAQUS.
relative roughness parameter as well as making recommendations on
the displacements necessary to mobilize peak and residual drained and
undrained soil resistances. Both un-trenched and trenched pipelines
with various types of backfill will be considered. LATERAL BUCKLING DESIGN ON-BOTTOM STABILITY ANALYSIS

• Lay Analysis (Pipe embedment, Route • Hydrodynamic Load Analysis

KEY WORDS: Pipelines; soil; interaction; clay; axial; resistance;


Curve Pullout)

• • Pipeline Expansion (UHB, Axial Walking,


UHB. Formation of Lateral Buckles & Fatigue Route-Curve Instability)

• Cyclic Effects: Axial Walking & Route-Curve


Instability
•Free-Span Analysis
INTRODUCTION

Understanding pipe-soil interaction behaviour is important in the design


Pipe-Soil Interaction
of subsea pipelines for:

• Lateral Buckling Design; SCR DESIGN


INSTALLATION ANALYSIS
Steel Catenary Riser (SCR) Design; •
• On-Bottom Stability Analysis; and
• Pull-In & Retrieval Analyses
Fatigue Analysis

• • Touch Down Zone (TDZ) Evolution (Trenching


• Installation Analysis Lay Analysis (Pipe Embedment, Route Curve
Pullout)
& Backfilling)

The main design aspects involving pipe-soil interaction for each of the
above designs have been summarized in Figure 1.
Figure 1 Pipe-Soil Interaction Aspects of Subsea Pipeline Design
The lateral buckling solution is very sensitive to soil-pipe interaction.
Two pipe-soil interaction models are generally used on-bottom stability
The SAFEBUCK JIP (Safe, 2004) has been the focus of research and
analysis programs. The first and simplest is an equivalent 2-D
testing of deepwater very soft clay to improve the understanding of
Coulomb friction model while the second 3-D analysis model adopts a
pipe-soil response. Sands are generally considered to be better
more realistic non-linear lateral force displacement relationship.
understood than cohesive soils.

Paper No. 2006-JSC-289 Oliphant

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